Home Fire Safety: 9 Tips Everyone Needs to Know

Experiencing a fire in your home is something that nobody ever wants to go through. And while house fires are fortunately pretty rare in the United States, it’s still a good idea to have a basic idea of home fire safety and the various things that you can do to keep your loved ones, your belongings, and your home itself safe from an unexpected fire event.

Whether you rent or own, here is what you need to know about preventing fires and ensuring that you can act fast if an emergency fire situation does occur.

House fires by the numbers

What are the odds of being in a house fire?

In 2019, there were 1,291,500 fires in the U.S., according to the U.S. Fire Administration, though only 29.9% of those were in residential properties. That’s about 386,000 house fires out of the more than 140 million total housing units in the country, which means that your chances of experiencing a fire at home are quite small—though not negligible.

As for the causes of these fires, half (50.2%) were caused by cooking, followed by heating (9.3%), general carelessness (7.7%), electrical malfunctions (6.8%), and intentional arsons (4.5%). Other less common causes of house fires include unattended open flames, appliances, and smoking.

Property loss and injuries were the most likely outcomes of house fires in 2019, though there were about 3,700 deaths. Being up to date on home fire safety then is an important step in keeping your home safe, and it could also save your life or the life of someone else.

9 essential home fire safety tips

Not all fires at home are preventable. That being said, it is always a good idea to follow fire safety rules and do your part to keep your home—and the homes around you—as safe as possible. Here are nine home fire safety tips that everyone should know and follow for both preventing fires and reacting if they do occur.

Install smoke alarms and regularly ensure that they’re working

Keep an eye on your kitchen

• Food left unattended while cooking
• Flammable items left too close to heat sources (think rags, potholders, and alcohol)
• Failing to turn off appliances or unintentionally turning them on

Grease fires are another potential risk factor here, including built-up grease from previous days of cooking.

Clear the lint out of your dryer after every load

Clean out your gutters

Don’t overload your outlets or circuit breakers

Be careful with heated blankets and space heaters

Keep fire extinguishers around your house

Plan a fire escape route

Prepare and protect your kids

Don’t shy away from discussing fire safety in your home just because it can be a scary topic. The more prepared that all members of your household are, the better chance you have of reacting quickly and appropriately in the event of a fire—and avoiding a fire from starting in your home in the first place.